Do I have to do pelvic floor muscle recovery after childbirth? Yes, it's important!

The following article is from Author Dr. XiaoRong Wang, doctor of OB/GYN

- Preface -

Pregnancy is a happy and surprising thing

Many mothers know that when they go to the hospital for re-examination 42 days after giving birth, they are usually required to do pelvic floor muscle repair.

Many question raised, "The doctor always recommends me to do pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation. Is it necessary? Is this a new way of money?"

Indeed, what are "pelvic floor muscles"? Many mothers don’t know it very well, and they can’t see or feel it. What’s the effect of spending thousands of dollars like this?

Today, I'm going to talk to you about "postpartum pelvic floor muscle recovery". Is it worth doing pelvic floor muscle repair?

 What are pelvic floor muscles?

It would have been a wonderful thing to be in the first month of pregnancy and to give birth to the whole family in the joy of the arrival of the baby, but after giving birth, the feeling that it brings to expectant mothers is not always so pleasant.

Because women's bodies will have some significant changes after childbirth, such as "don't dare to laugh out loud, don't dare to run too fast, if you don't pay attention, there will be "embarrassment" of leaking urine... In fact, this is all cause by pelvic floor function (PFD)

The pelvic floor muscles are the muscles at the bottom of the pelvis, which are connected between the pubic bone and the coccyx like a hammock. The urethra, bladder, vagina, uterus, rectum, and other organs above the pelvic floor muscles are tightly held by the pelvic floor muscles. so that they can both maintain their normal physiological positions and perform their normal physiological functions. 

(Image source: Photo Network)

 Why do pelvic floor muscles damaged after childbirth?

Vaginal delivery during childbirth is the leading cause of pelvic floor muscle damage in women. Generally, the head diameter of the fetus is larger than the normal vaginal diameter, so during childbirth, the vagina is squeezed and expanded by the fetal head, which will cause damage to the pelvic floor muscles.

For twins, macrosomia, and expectant mothers with many deliveries, the corresponding impact on the pelvic floor will also increase.

Many moms think that cesarean section does not affect the pelvic floor muscles, but in fact this is a misunderstanding, the impact on the pelvic floor muscles will start during pregnancy not delivery.

During pregnancy, with the enlargement of the uterus, gravity will inevitably cause varying degrees of damage to the pelvic floor muscles, resulting in pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.

There are also a lot of male and female hormones and progesterone, which also affect it.

 What will happen if the pelvic floor muscles do not recover?

As mentioned at the beginning, the most intuitive harm is postpartum urine leakage, pelvic floor muscles relax, and it becomes difficult to control urine. Especially when laughing, coughing, and sneezing, the urine flows out involuntarily, and sometimes it is accompanied by frequent urination.

Some postpartum mothers said: "I haven't dared to go out since I gave birth. Before going out, I must check the nearby toilets. I'm afraid I can't help it leak on my pants, and my mind is very tired."

(Image source: Photo Network)

If the pelvic floor damage is severe, conditions such as uterine prolapse and vaginal wall bulge may occur. The more relaxed the pelvic floor muscles, the greater the risk of pelvic organ prolapse.

Every type of prolapse is not a pleasant experience, and can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, painful, and, in severe cases, require surgery to resolve.

The damage to the pelvic floor muscles after pregnancy is certain, but many women ignore the examination of the pelvic floor muscles during postpartum examinations because there is no discomfort at the time.

However, the sequelae of pelvic floor relaxation that really affect the quality of life may not be reflected until several years or even decades later, so it has not attracted the attention of many people.

(Image source: Photo Network)

 The sooner the pelvic floor muscles recover, the better

There are many second-born mothers who come to me for examination and report to me, "When I gave birth to my first child, there were not so many problems."

That is natural. First of all, mothers is younger and in better health when they are pregnant with the first child. Many pregnant mothers are obviously more difficult to conceive than before when they are pregnant with the second child.

Another important reason is that the chronic damage to the pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy doubles during the second pregnancy. A mother of a second child said, "I would leak urine when I sneeze in the later stages of pregnancy, but this problem did not occur in the first child."

Especially if the pelvic floor muscle dysfunction occurs after the first child is born, if it is not recovered in time, the symptoms will be more obvious in the second pregnancy.

Therefore, postpartum pelvic floor muscle recovery is crucial, and the golden period for postpartum pelvic floor muscle recovery is generally 42 days postpartum to 3 months postpartum.

If you miss the prime time, the recovery effect of pelvic floor muscles will gradually deteriorate, and the chances of pelvic floor muscle relaxation, pelvic floor organ prolapse, and leakage of urine from coughing and sneezing will greatly increase in the future.

Therefore, the earlier the postpartum pelvic floor recovery, the better, and every expecting mother should pay attention to it.

(Image source: Photo Network)

Can I do Kegel exercises myself?

Speaking of this, everyone must ask, how to restore the pelvic floor muscles? I believe that the well-known method to restore the pelvic floor muscles is "Kegel exercises".

Although there are many tutorials on the Internet for "Kegel exercises", each mother has a different degree of pelvic floor muscle injury, and Kegel exercise is not suitable for all expectant mothers.

Therefore, expectant mothers must pay attention to the screening of pelvic floor muscles during the 42-day postpartum review. The doctor will guide you on the pelvic floor muscle recovery treatment plan according to your personal situation.

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